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Academic Dishonesty Information
How to proceed if you suspect Academic Dishonesty has
occured in your class
Maintain strict confidentiality. Only those directly involved:
the instructor of the course, any TA(s) directly involved,
and the Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Programs should
be part of discussions of the incident. If it is necessary
to seek advice from any other person, do so in a way that
prevents the identity of the student(s) involved in the
incident from being revealed.
Report the incident by phone (do NOT use email) to Assistant
Dean Peter Kaye ((312) 503-3009) to alert him to the incoming
case.
Send the Assistant Dean a letter setting out the facts
of the incident. The form of the letter should be roughly
as follows:
Dear Assistant Dean Kaye:
I regret to inform you of a possible case of academic
dishonesty by Mary Q. Student in my class, Biology 199-0
this quarter.
Then go on to describe what happened. Here are some examples:
- During the midterm examination on May 22, my TA
Fred Smith observed Mary repeatedly looking at the examination
paper of the student sitting next to her. Upon grading
the exams, he verified that there were suspiciously similar
answers on the two exams, including similar incorrect
answers. No other pair of examinations showed the same
degree of
similarity in their answers.
- John Student submitted a paper which appears in large
part to be plagiarized from these sources: xxxx. Enclosed
is his original paper, copies of the sources, and a
copy of the paper with the plagiarized material keyed to the
sources.
- Helen Cheater and Holly Copier submitted nearly
identical homework assignments number 4 (see enclosed
syllabus).
Students were clearly instructed not to consult in
doing the homework.
Do not editorialize in your letter or give an opinion
about guilt or innocence. Just state the facts. (The
student will eventually see your letter along with
all other evidence.)
The letter must be signed by the instructor of record for the course, even
if the academic dishonesty was discovered by a TA. If the instructor has
left the university, the departmental chairperson may act in his or her place.
Enclose all original materials, and retain copies for yourself.
Include all other relevant evidence. Among the items you should submit are
the following (depending on the case):
- Copies of sources of plagiarized material, with the plagiarized passages
marked and keyed to a copy (do not mark the originals in this way) of the student's
work. If the plagiarized material is from a relatively small number of pages
of a long source, it is sufficient to submit copies of the pages plagiarized
along with a copy of the title page of the source.
- Original examination booklets. If copying involving more than one student
is suspected, you should also submit marked copies of each exam keyed so that
the suspected copying is clear to the Assistant Dean.
- Copies of the course
syllabus or the examination and any special instructions for the particular
assignment or exam.
- Try to anticipate possible "innocent" explanations
for what occurred and include any evidence which makes such
explanations unlikely.
Send the letter and enclosures to Peter Kaye (or, in his
absence, Megan Powell) at the School of Continuing Studies,
339 East Chicago Ave., Chicago, IL 60611 as quickly as
possible after the incident occurs.
Informing the student. The student will receive a letter
from the Assistant Dean informing him/her that an allegation
of academic dishonesty has been made. You may, if you wish,
do nothing further yourself to inform the student.
In many cases, however, this may be unrealistic, especially
if the student is expecting the return of a piece of work
that you have sent to the Assistant Dean and queries you
about it. In such cases, you should simply tell the student
that a question has arisen about possible academic dishonesty
in connection with the work, that you have submitted it
to the dean's office for further action, as you are
required to do by SCS policy, and that s/he will be hearing
from the dean's office shortly.
You should not, at this stage, discuss the facts of the
case with the student, or make any conjectures (let alone
commitments!) about possible outcomes.
Grading. Do not assign a grade to the work in question
until the incident has been resolved and you have received
instructions from the Assistant Dean. If final course grades
are due before a decision has been made, leave the student's
grade blank on when entering the course grades online.
Please contact the Assistant Dean for further directions
on entering grades when an incident of academic dishonesty
is still under review.
Subsequent steps. See SCS
Procedures for Alleged Violations of Academic Integrity.
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